Valley Of Trials short
by Starrweaver
Summary: I've been a writer/gamer a long time, long before they had guide books for RPGs - I was the chronicler for many gaming sessions. So here's a WoW tale as a taste, to see if I should submit more or not. The characters are mine, the world is Blizzard's.


This is an excerpt from a fan fiction that I'm writing. I wanted to see if anyone found this story interesting before I publish any more. Thanks for reading my posting – I welcome comments.

In the Valley of Trials

"Hey Katar, what you guys doing?" the young orc came over and flopped down in the sand beside his friends. They were hiding out from duties and catching some sun on the rocky outcrops above the camp.

"We're just being bored." Grog says as he leans against a rock with his eyes closed.

"Nothing different than yesterday." Mugtar grunts as he lays in the shade offered by an outcropping. Haggar rolls his eyes and sighs, they were right. They were so bored waiting to be old enough to start their training. They still had chores, but they were never any different. They all wanted a little adventure, something that would shake things up some.

"We could go bug the Warper, maybe he'll help us this time." Dar had been draped over the rocky outcrop like an offering to some sun god. Haggar chuckled when he looked up at him. But the idea tickled him and it was better than just hanging out here till dinner again.

"So let's go!" he called out as he got up and headed down the side of the cliff, following the crude pathway as it led back to the floor of the valley. He could hear the others following him, so he didn't stop. Taking the left path would take them to the front of the valley and the gates.

"The guard changes in a few," Dar said as he gauged the suns position with his knowledge of the den grunts scheduled rotation. "give or take a moment or two."

Haggar nodded and they headed casually towards the gate, watching as the grunts on the end of the narrows shift away from their posts. They started to head into the narrows, while a group of six others headed for them. The narrows was a hall that led to the gate from both sides of the camp valley head. There was a small den where the guard swapped out just a dozen yards from the gate. It was always open, at least Haggar had never seen it closed, nor had he ever heard anyone tell of a time that it had been closed.

As they followed behind into the narrows, there was the feeling of a chaotic milling about at the entrance, but not in a threatening way. The boys hurried up and through the gate and over to the shack that housed the Warper when he wasn't needed.

It was just a mishmash of hides, wood planks and such that used the L shaped side of the cliff stone for two walls. He looked like a blood elf, allies to the Horde. Yet Haggar wondered if that's what the Warper really looked like. He held a lot of magic at his command, yet he seemed to not have any venom for any of the races. He said that all are different and yet very much the same. It made Haggar think that everything he'd been taught was just a little bit off the reality - not quiet the whole truth.

His friends at his back, crowding him, he headed to the golden form of the blood elf garbed in his usual blood red and gold colors. He was drinking something from a large cup and seemed calm, but then he never seemed to get angry at anything.

"Ah, hello there young ones. Here to ask me to offer you an adventure again?" He smiled as he turned to look them over, his eyes, their odd glowing green light that once disturbed them, gave only the impression of amusement.

"We'd like to go someplace that's different than here. Someplace that isn't too dangerous, but can offer something exciting." Haggar was pleased at the way he worded his request, he'd been working on it. The others seemed glad to agree with him and for the first time the Warper seemed impressed. He tilted his head just slightly and a small smile touched his lips. He'd not responded to "we want an adventure" or "send us someplace fun" because those requests were not thought out or specific. Haggar had finally realized what the Warper was wanting and had worked all week on how to put his desire for adventure into a form that worked.

"I see you've considered this decision carefully and weighed out the consequences." The Warper began as he stood and faced them, "so I will offer you a somewhat safe trip, provided you don't act foolishly. But it will also be a short one, this is due to your age and an added protection." He slipped a slender rod out of his robe and handed it to Haggar, who took it gently. The tip of it glittered and sparkled like tiny fireflies.

"How does it work?" Dar asked, as he had been looking at the wand with great interest.

"It will transport you to a place I've set into it, after a set amount of time has passed it will transport you back here. I will see to it that no one knows about your little trip, since I don't wish to get into any hot water about this." The Warper winked as he led them to the opposite side of the cliff stone that formed one of his hut walls. There was a small open crevice that led to a storage cave of sorts.

"This is great, no one can see us in here." Grog whispered.

"Exactly. Now you will need to stay close together, when the tip stops sparkling and the rod glows red you better all be no less than a body's span apart. If you are too far away, you will be left behind." The Warper then turned to leave, but at the entrance he turned and smiled, but his eyes glowed with a warning. "Make sure that you separate yourselves from any creature you may find. We don't need you returning with some pet or pest that would be difficult to explain."

"Thanks for your help, we'll be careful." Mugtar tells him and then nods to the others. They gather into a tight circle by instinct almost, no one more than a span from the other. The rod slowly glows blue as the sparkles flash brighter. Then everything seems to distort some, like a sudden case of dizziness and the ground suddenly slipped away.

The ground came up to meet all them with a solid thump, but it wasn't as harsh as it would have been if the ground had been the rocky stone it had been only moments before. Not only could they feel the softness of real soil, but they could smell the richness of it. Their vision was the last thing to return, coming out of the blurry, foggy haze into a dim, yet vibrant green. Everywhere was green, every shade and hue of it. Mingled with the mottled browns of bark and the dark black soil was the light tawny of a young doe. Dar was staring, silent and still as stone, they all gazed at the very first deer they'd ever seen.

"She's so small, her legs are like tiny twigs." Grog whispered softly to keep from frightening her. The others nodded as they watched her walk away into the surrounding trees. Then there was the sound of water, but it was unlike anything they'd ever heard. It was only because of the smell together with the sound did it finally click in our heads. Mugtar was eating something as they reached a steep drop, they looked back at him and he shrugged and offered a hand full of mushrooms. They looked at each other, then everyone took one for a taste. The rich burst of flavor was unexpected. These were good, which suddenly made them realize that they'd left before lunch.

"Look over there," Dar whispered to the others. Haggar realized that he'd moved farther away towards the edge of the drop. They hurried over to him and crouched down where he was to see what he'd found. The sound of water was stronger and they realized that it was a pool with some thing on the sides that made the water fall like rain back into the pool.

"Haggar, look at the sparkles." Dar was right - the pool had sparkles rising out of it, but they were larger than the ones that still glittered on the tip of the rod. Mugtar started to move back, heading to look for more mushrooms no doubt. Grog started to follow when they all heard the sound. It froze them in place like stone statues. Mugtar had already reached the upper curve, but he realized he was too far away from the rest. Grog was halfway between and Dar and Haggar were still at the edge looking down through the dense greenery. Katar had been crouched beside Dar and his eyes were glued to the pool below.

There below appeared figures, the sound that had frozen them had been voices. Dar, Katar and Haggar had a perfect view of who they belonged too. Mugtar and Grog couldn't see, but were afraid to move, waiting to see if the others would come to them.

Katar glanced over at Haggar, the two exchanged a worried look. But Dar's soft exhale made them look back at the pool. There below were several female night elves, all wearing long flowing robes of different shades of color. Their flesh was also shaded differently as the boys soon discovered when the robes dropped and the females entered to pool. Their eyes roamed eagerly from one to the next and drank in every detail they could despite the distance and the dense greenery.

Haggar felt a sting on his hand and tore his gaze away to look down. A green bug, with large pincers had tried to taste him. But what caught his eyes was the tip of the rod, the glittering was dimmer, their time was running out. Quickly Haggar looked to see where everyone was and realized they were too far apart. Ignoring the desire to look back to the pool, he slipped a hand in front of Dar to break the spell.

"What..." Dar started to hiss, but Haggar had the rod out and the look on his face was stern. Dar closed his eyes, sighed softly and then both quietly got Katar's attention with the rod. The look of conflict crossed his expression, but he bit his lip and turned away. Meanwhile, Mugtar and Grog waited and wondered if they should move. They had no clue what was going on, but trusted the others to get them home again. Mugtar had found a dozen mushrooms within reach while he'd waited. Grog was glad when the others reached him and told him to move up, but to be as quiet as possible. Since Grog had been wanting to be a rogue, he forced himself to be as silent as he could. Once they were all together again, Mugtar and Grog noticed that each of the others had an odd look.

"What happened? What did you see?" Grog asked softly. The three boys all shared a look and Haggar just shook his head.

"We'll tell you guys later." Dar said as they all turned to put more distance between themselves and the pool.

They found a few bushes of dark berries and grabbed up handfuls to eat since all of them, but Mugtar were hungry. Yet Katar didn't seem to be as hungry as the others as he wandered a bit farther away. He knew he didn't have much time here, but he wanted to memorize every last piece of it. He took up a handful of soil and smelled it's pungently rich earthy scent and sighed.

"You like the smell of the earth, do you?" a soft velvet voice whispered into his ear. The sharp point of a blade at his throat, made him close his eyes and use his other senses. He could feel the warmth of a body behind him, just a little to the side. The flesh of an arm across his chest was the one that held the dagger. The other arm was resting just at his waist on his hip. He leaned his head back, knowing he was baring his throat to an enemy, but he took in a deep breath as he did so. He could sense her head was near his, the smell of flowers he'd never seen and the soft musk of her made him shiver just a little.

"You smell like this place, beautiful..." he sighed, the words soft and warm. Katar felt her shift, he already knew she was a female. But now he also felt confusion in the way her body moved. He'd also seen what that body might look like and nothing had ever made him feel quite like it. Her closeness was like a liquor, it warmed him, quickened his pulse.

"You don't hate me?" the voice was caressing to him, but he could hear the disbelief and wonder in it. Katar opened his eyes and looked into the glowing orbs of a young night elf female that was close enough to taste if he dared to.

"Never..." was all he could get out. For him the entire world had disappeared. There was only her eyes and the smell of her, the feel of her body so close, at points touching. The heat at those points was both like the burning of a scorpod sting and the hot pleasure of spiced cider ale.

"But... you're... horde..." she couldn't seem to speak either. Katar wondered if she felt anything close to what he was feeling. "Who are you..." she finally breathed as if out of breath. Her eyes seemed to dim a little and he felt her body become less tense and more fluid. Katar could also smell the musk and earthy scents grow stronger as he moved slowly not wanting to frighten her. She reminded him of the deer, so soft and warm, though he also knew she could be deadly. It gave him a rush to test himself like this. Then his hand slid across the space between them, finding her thigh and caressing slowly across the soft leather, he reached her hip.

"Katar..." he said as he dared to lean towards her, waiting to see if she'd move. When she didn't, he took the chance and tasted her, the softness of her lips making him far more gentle than he'd ever been before. The soft moan that escaped from her, surprised him. But the response to his actions was even more so, she returned the pressure and added more of her own. Then the darting of her tongue, tasting him in return sent shivers of pleasure through him.

"Cinnamon..." she whispered to him. "You taste like spices." He looked into the glowing orbs that seemed to twinkle with laughter. He couldn't help but grin a little.

"You taste like a sweet mulled wine." he spoke low, feeling very strange and yet very happy. There was something important that he needed to do, but there was no place he wanted to be more than right here and right now.

Then he felt movement, from behind him...knew what it was and with speed he didn't realize he had, he spun away from the lovely night elf rogue and took down his friend Grog as he had been sneaking up on them.

"What are you..." Grog snapped just as Katar clamped his hand over his mouth. Katar looked up and glanced about desperately, but he couldn't see her anywhere. He glared down at Grog who was looking at him confused.

"Why did you have to go and do that? I was doing fine on my own." Katar got up and pulled Grog up. Grog watched as Katar looked around with an odd longing in his eyes. "You chased her away..." he muttered. Grog looked at his friend as if he'd never seen him.

"You... and... her?" Grog raised an eyebrow. Katar looked at his friend and punched him in the arm. "Ow, watch it." but he had a sly grin on his face.

"Not a word you worm." Katar glared at him. Then he sighed, "What did you come looking for me for?"

"We need to go, Haggar said to find you. Time's up." Grog's mind churned, then he looked at Katar with a bit more understanding. "Sorry about... You know. I didn't really...well, see what was going on."

"Yeah, I know. I never really thought about it before either..." Katar looked around as Grog started to head back to the bushes. "I wish I knew her name..."

"Come on lover boy, or you'll get stuck here." Grog grinned as he disappeared into the greenery. Katar gave a growl at him.

"Not a word or your boar bait..." he called to him, turning to follow his friend. But a soft breeze caressed his bare arm and chest, stroking his shoulder and then running teasingly down his back. He felt her; felt her warmth and the humor in her velvet voice as she whispered into his ear, her breath tickling his neck and sending shivers through his body.

"Aluna...remember me." then she was gone. Haggar and the others came hurrying through the bushes and over to him as he stood there slightly dazed and feeling very warm.

"I want to hear everything when we get back...." Dar exclaimed excitedly. Haggar had a worried yet amused expression on his face.

"That makes double for me, but we have to all get back first." The rod he held was pulsing red. "I hope that little friend of yours knows enough to stay back far enough."

Katar knew that she was close, but not close enough to be caught by the magic. "Don't worry, she isn't foolish enough to hang around with you guys crashing about."

Dar and Haggar grinned and Katar glared at them. "Don't go thinking I'm going to tell you anything either...that was private."

The magic started to activate as the two boys started to protest Katar's position on the matter. The world went wavy and the ground disappeared again. Landing this time was just as hard as they expected it to be.

"Ow! Get off my leg cactus head!" Grog said as they started to get reoriented again.

"If Mugtar would get off my lap I would!" Dar growled. Katar and Haggar had avoided getting tangled up in the rope that lay on the floor unlike the others. Haggar took that moment to ask his friend a question.

"Why are you still alive?" The other three orcs were too busy untangling to notice them, so Katar leaned over and told him what he thought.

"I don't think everything we've been told is true." Katar seemed to think things over and then sighed. "She could have killed me, but she didn't. I think she was taught the same sort of stuff we've been."

"What do you mean?" Haggar asked quickly as he glanced at the others. Katar realized they didn't have much time.

"She asked me if I hate her..." Katar felt a bit of guilt as he said the words aloud. Haggar seemed to understand it too. They exchanged a look just before Dar came tumbling over.

"What are you two talking about? No secrets." Grog came over with Mugtar and both Haggar and Katar turned to look at them.

"We need to keep this quiet. Anyone find out we went off like that we'd get our hides tanned good. So we keep this secret." He looked at the other three and they all nodded.

"Can we go get some lunch, I'm starving..." Mugtar grumbled. They all looked at him.

He stared back for a moment, then said "What?"

The others shook their heads and groaned. Then they all headed for the entrance, though Katar held back with Haggar. He called out to the other three.

"I gotta give this back to the Warper, meet you in the hall." But the others only waved and started to sprint for the gate. It looked like they were switching out for the noon guard.

Haggar and Katar went to the Warper that was sitting at his doorway with his drink again. He smiled when he saw the two coming towards him.

"So, you're all back again. Did you enjoy your little adventure?" He looked from one to the other. "Hmm? Maybe a bit more of an adventure than you bargained for..."

"It was a real eye opener that's for sure." Haggar said as he gave the spent rod back to the Warper.

"Thank you. I believe lunch is about to be served, you'd best get a move on." He reached out and grabbed hold of Katar's arm. The grip was firm, Katar looked up at him. The Warper took his hand to shake it, pressing something into his palm. "Come again if you ever need to travel someplace far away." He smiled a little and then released Katar. Turning again to his drink, Katar turned away, slipping the item into his cuff as he hurried over to his friend Haggar.

"What was that all about?" Haggar asked with his eyebrow arched. Katar looked at him with a confused expression.

"Haven't the foggiest. But then he's a Warper, what are they supposed to be like?" Haggar shrugged and nodded. They headed through the narrow and started to lope towards the hall to join the others and get some lunch. Suddenly, Katar stopped short and smacked his head with his hand and groaned.

"What's wrong?" Haggar asked him.

"I completely forgot I was supposed to take Capt. Vagnar his shipment of new blades!" Haggar looked shocked for a moment, then shoved his friend in the direction of the outer camp huts.

"Then get moving! If he doesn't have those blades for the afternoon recruits he'll be furious!" Katar looked back, but Haggar waved him off and headed for the hall. Katar hadn't liked lying to his friend, but he also didn't want to share what the Warper had slipped him. He ran as fast as he could to his room at the back of the shipping hut. He pulled down the curtain across his door to give himself some privacy. Then flopped down on the pile of furs that lay on the floor. His straw cot hid him from view and slipped the object out of his wrist cuff.

The stone was smooth, polished to a very high sheen on one side and very thin. The other side was rough and looked like any other rock in the valley. Katar knew something was different about it though, as there was a feel of magic that seemed to hum from inside the stone. As he looked at the smooth surface, the soft blues and greens, he wondered if he'd ever see the young night elf again.

"Aluna." he said her name softly, remembering the taste of her. The smooth surface of the rock seemed to ripple like water. Then through the green haze he could see her, she was sitting by some water - because he could see her looking down into it and the light from it shimmered over her. The image cleared and he could see the shadows behind her, she was someplace alone, hidden. She looked a little sad, but she was still as beautiful to him as she smelled. She picked up a dark stick and broke it. She closed her eyes and smelled the air...then whispered...

"Cinnamon..." and smiled.

Katar felt the flush of warmth run through him. Quickly he covered up the small stone and buried it deep in the straw of his cot close to where he would lay his head. His head felt fuzzy and warmth made him feel giddy. It was like drinking a bottle of fire adder ale, but better...his mind kept playing the memory over and over and he swore he could taste the sweetness of her again. He headed straight for the cliffs, climbing high up to the outcrop where they'd all met this morning. No one was there, which was what he'd hoped. He didn't feel hungry, or sleepy or anything at all. He just felt dreamy, everything seemed unreal around him. All he wanted now was to be alone with his thoughts. He flopped down on the stone, gazing up at the sky...his mind drifting as he thought of the contradictions in what he'd been taught and what he'd learned about the world today. He felt different than he did this morning, but he couldn't put it into words. He closed his eyes and wished himself to feel her and relive that brief moment....again, and again.


End file.
